Meeting Abstract
S5.12 Wednesday, Jan. 5 Perspective on Biomechanics and Biomimetics: Successes, Gaps and Regions Unexplored PELL, Chuck; Duke University cpell@duke.edu
Though comparative biomechanics matures fruitfully within itself, aside from a few established areas it has yet to invade most fields that stand to benefit. This is partly because translating discoveries depends on the idiosyncrasies of communication and partly because most in those fields have no idea what biomechanics offers – those traditions are perceived from within as “complete.” While the influence of biomechanics is spreading, many crossover projects (for instance in mobile robotics) focus again and again on just a few areas (e.g., locomotion and sensing) despite the much broader prospects for those fields and benefits for biomechanics in return. For example, while mobile robot designs grow in complexity, biomechanics offers examples (often without moving parts) that once built, work “for free” by exploiting properties of their environment. Second, bio-inspiration or ‘biomimetics’ has become fashionable, which has lead to a plethora of ‘bio-inspired’ projects, many of which garner press (and funding) despite their being unencumbered by any actual biology. Only by devoting attention to clarifying communications with those outside biomechanics (both accurately and in the language they understand) can we help the wider world sort the wheat from the chaff. Finally, biomechanics informs areas where engineered objects or systems must interact with biological objects: examples include architecture, power plants, vehicles, tools, shoes, etc. More than a machine copying nature, a little dash of biomechanics could prevent commonplace damage by machines to the associated biology. One striking example is the field of modern surgery, deep within which one finds ensconced a stunning corpus of non-quantitative, anecdotal practice. Data will be presented clearly illustrating how the longstanding designs of common surgical tools impact tissues, and how even basic attention to the mechanics of the situation preserves tissue integrity.
